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Chucking the Constitution
 Of all the
entities, the one taht is consistently working against Indian
Constitution is the Government of India. Measure its stance, work
and approach to any clause of The Directive Principles of State
Policy, which are meant to guide governments and be incorporated in
policy-making, and it cuts a sorry figure.
The principles
are simply not being followed. Because they are non-justiciable,
governments have not bothered to honour these guidelines. For
instance, Article 139 - which pertains to economic planning - calls
for policies that curb the concentration of wealth among a few. But
look at what is happening today. The inflation of state action is
resulting in greater disparity in our society.
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Irrespective of the talk about secularism, there is a contrary
message being sent out and this is reflected in the politicisation
of caste and religion. Casteism and communalism are employed to gain
and retain political power in India today. |
Disparity in
India operates on two levels - inequitable distribution and
valuation of monetary resources, and inequitable distribution of
resources per se, especially land. There is an imbalance in the
valuation of produce and labour in the mechanised sectors vis-a-vis
natural resource-based sectors like agriculture and horticulture.
Agricultural produce and labour are greatly undervalued in the
country and this impacts the right to life and livelihood of
millions of people.
Consider
fundamental rights, specifically the right to life. The
disadvantaged in India have been compelled to fight for even the
most basic of rights, which should have been theirs to have simply
by virtue of being Indian citizens. Be it housing, education or any
other area, there is great inequity. India doesn't need a welfare
state approach. What it needed was a political state where people's
sovereignty could have been supreme. The idea seems outdated to New
Delhi.
 Irrespective of
the talk about secularism, there is a contrary message being sent
out and this is reflected in the politicisation of caste and
religion. Casteism and communalism are employed to gain and retain
political power in India today.
Crucially, the
democratic process in this country is being progressively marred.
Through the 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution, the gram
sabha and ward sabha - the basic blocks of democratic representation
- were given a clear political space and role in development
planning. But this has not yet been reflected in the political
system. More people today are questioning the role of the state.
Meanwhile, extrastatutory authority is being appropriated by the
corporate sector and we now have corporations taking on the role of
the state in many areas, which is leading to a divide between the
state and the people. The state has progressively sabotaged the
basic values of its own Constitution.
3
February 2010
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